Fireworks Behind The Broom Shed
by SickleUnicornGleek
Summary: MWPP era, Lily & James. New Year during Lily & James' seventh year, Gryffindor house is having a party. James, having, sort of, deflated his head by now, is on good speaking terms with Lily. But will they still be speaking after the party?
1. Chapter 1

**Fireworks Behind The Broom Shed**

MWPP era; OneShot; Lily/James.

_Disclaimer_: I do not own these people. I do not own the setting. The only thing I own is the plot.

A/N: This is my first fanfic attempt, so it might not be fantastic. Please bear this in mind if you review. Please review! I want to know if I'm any good or not, and the only way I can do that is if you review! I will reward you with smileys if you do!

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It was New Year's Eve in James' final year at Hogwarts, and Gryffindor was getting ready for a magnificent party. James, Sirius and Peter had already taken many trips to the kitchens to supply everyone with enough Butterbeer and Firewhisky, and lots of food. When they got back after the final trip, James looked around and saw Lily Evans talking to Remus Lupin. They were both smiling. Remus said something and Lily laughed. James stood still, watching Lily as she talked, transfixed. A few minutes later, Remus and Lily broke away and Remus walked over to James, Sirius and Peter. 

"What did Evans want?" asked James, trying to make it sound off-hand, but failing miserably. Sirius and Peter looked at each other, trying not to laugh.

"Nothing, really. We were just talking about Slughorn's essay," Remus replied.

"Oh." James looked slightly put-out. "She, er, didn't mention me at all?"

"No." Remus started to smile. Sirius burst out laughing and James elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow! Just because she hasn't fallen for your cocky chat-up lines," teased Sirius, grinning. James poked his tongue out at his best friend and grabbed a Butterbeer.

After two hours, the party was well under way, but, surprisingly, James hadn't gotten too drunk yet; he'd only had one Firewhisky, and all the other drinks he'd had had been Butterbeer. He was stood in the middle of the room with his friends, and a group of girls were stood around him and Sirius, flirting madly. Sirius was having a great time, flirting back, but James only had eyes for one girl that night. He craned his neck, looking around the common room, and eventually he saw her. Lily Evans was stood alone at one of the tables bearing drinks, sipping a Butterbeer as she leaned against the table, watching the crowd of Gryffindors as they partied.

James pushed past a sixth-year fluttering her eyelashes at him and escaped the thick of the party. He made his way over to Lily, who struggled not to roll her eyes as James came to stand next to her, grinning at her and rumpling up his hair a little.

"Alright, Evans?" James asked, looking out at the rest of the common room as he leaned back on the table too. "Good party, huh?"

"I guess," Lily replied.

"You guess? Oh, come on, Lily. Let go a little, party like the rest of us," James grinned, nudging her shoulder gently. The corners of Lily's mouth twitched upwards.

"You look really nice tonight," James told Lily after a slight pause in the conversation.

"Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself," Lily said. James grinned.

"I'll take that as a compliment, shall I?" he asked, leaning closer. "Firewhisky?" he asked, seeing that she'd just finished a Butterbeer. James pressed a glass of Firewhisky into Lily's hand before she could say no. Lily consented to drinking it, to James' delight.

"So, what are your New Year's Resolutions?" James asked Lily, who shrugged.

"I haven't thought about it," she replied. She brushed her long red hair off her shoulder. "What about you?"

"Oh, I don't know. 'Stop getting so many detentions' might be a good start," James mused. Lily looked surprised. "Of course, the teachers _are_ always asking for it. I have better things to do with my time than pointless essays about irrelevant goblin wars and stuff. And as for the blasted caretaker, well ... I'm bound to get muddy if I play Quidditch, aren't I? It's not my fault if I drip mud throughout the castle after a rainy practise, is it? He should tell the sky to stop raining all the time, shouldn't he?" James ranted indignantly. Lily smiled as she finished off her Firewhisky. James immediately gave her another one.

"James Potter," she asked lightly, grinning. "Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Of course not," James cried in mock outrage. "I would never do something so devious!" he lied.

Lily snorted in disbelief as she drank. Once she'd finished that Firewhisky too, James risked the question he'd been asking for years.

"Go out with me," he whispered. His breath tickled Lily's ear, and it smelled of Butterbeer. Lily glared at him and leaned away.

"Excuse me?" she asked haughtily. James heard the warning tone in her voice, but he didn't care. He ran a quick hand through his hair, messing it up a bit more before continuing.

"Come on, Evans," he grinned. "Go out with me. You know you want to." His voice had suddenly gotten a lot louder, attracting a few people's attention. James tried to put an arm around Lily's shoulders, but Lily pushed his arm away.

"Get lost!" she snapped.

"Oh, Evans!" sighed James. Some of the people who were watching sniggered. "Don't pretend – I know you want me." He winked at her.

"In your dreams," sneered Lily. James leaned towards her to kiss her, but Lily pushed him away, hard. James staggered backwards. They had the attention of almost everyone in the common room now. Sirius, Remus and Peter pushed their way to the front of the silent onlookers, grinning.

James stepped cautiously back towards her and tried to laugh it off.

"Evans, chill out a little. It's New Year's Eve," he said, smiling. "Let's just kiss and make-up, yeah?"

Angry, Lily drew out her wand. The watching Gryffindors all drew in their breath.

"For heaven's sake, stop drawing attention to yourself and your big, fat head," Lily snarled under her breath. She grabbed James' arm in a vice-like grip and began dragging him towards the portrait hole. "We'll continue this discussion in private," she snapped.

James, after recovering from the momentary shock, started to grin again. Sirius wolf-whistled, making most of the people laugh again. James turned around and winked to the crowd, before puckering his lips to Lily's back as the portrait hole swung open.

"Alright then, Evans. Let's find some dark, secluded corner," James said in a loud, carrying voice. "But, you know, if you wanted to be alone, my dorm is empty." Lily pushed him roughly through the portrait hole as laughter rang out through the common room. She clambered through after James and the portrait hole slammed shut behind her. Laughter died immediately.

"More Firewhisky, anyone?" asked Sirius loudly, and then everybody went back to whatever they'd been doing before.

Meanwhile, Lily was marching James silently through the castle, her wand prodding into his back. When they reached the grounds, Lily continued her walk, her wand still digging into James' back, until they were behind the broom sheds by the Quidditch pitch.

"I don't think anyone will find us now, Lily," James grinned, messing up his hair with one hand again. "But you'd better kiss me quickly, just in case."

"Shut up," Lily said in a deadly hiss. But James wouldn't.

"It's true then, that redheads do have bad tempers. You need to calm down, Evans," he taunted.

"You need to shut up right now before I hex you," Lily snarled. James finally fell silent as sparks flew from the end of Lily's wand. "You – you are so bigheaded! I can't stand you! You know, I thought you were getting better, I thought you've not been so ignorant recently; I thought you were halfway decent!" she shouted. "But you're just as bad as you've always been, thinking that no girl can resist you and your cheesy chat-up lines. You're so annoying and immature!"

Lily paused to catch her breath, but before she could continue her rant, James put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her towards him. James leaned forward and covered Lily's lips with his own.

Lily was so taken-aback that she didn't do anything for a couple of seconds. Then, she realised how soft James' lips were, and how warm they were, and how she was actually enjoying their kiss. Lily started to kiss back, but then James opened his mouth, and Lily finally came to her senses and pulled back. Fury took over her again.

"What the heck was that about?" she demanded, wiping her mouth.

"I had to get you to shut up somehow," he grinned. "You were enjoying that, weren't you?" he said slyly.

"No!" Lily shot back, furious. James' grin widened. "Get lost, James Potter!"

"You liked it, you liar. You did, you did!" teased James.

Lily let out a cry of frustration as she rushed forward and her lips met James'. James staggered backwards in surprise and hit the back of the broom shed. Then, as Lily kissed him passionately, he put his arms around her waist. Lily let out a low moan as she ran a hand through James' already-messed up hair. James pulled Lily right up against him as they kissed.

When New Year came, the whooping and cheering Gryffindor students let off some of Dr Filibuster's fireworks and their party got even louder. But Lily and James didn't care – they were creating fireworks of their own.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Nope, still don't own. Damn.

**A/N:** Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry the update is so awfully late, I wasn't planning on doing more, then when I did decide to do more, I got writer's block, then I've been busy with school and stuff ... but I have finally managed to update. The next chapter will not arrive three months later, I will ensure I update sooner. I am very sorry. Hope you enjoy, please review and tell me what you think!!

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**Chapter Two – Happy New Year**

Half an hour into the New Year, Lily and James returned to the common room, where the party was still going. They were holding hands.

Lily and James walked towards the drinks table, where Remus and Peter were stood, drinking Firewhisky. Sirius was in the thick of the party, still surrounded by his fan club. Remus was the first to notice that Lily and James' fingers were intertwined.

"Hey!" he cried, pointing at their hands. For once, Remus seemed lost for words. It probably had something to do with the many drinks he had consumed that night. "You – you're – wow!" Remus spluttered. Lily giggled. "At last!" Remus sighed, finally managing to make a sentence, even though it was a very short one. Lily and James blushed slightly as Remus pointed out to Peter that they were holding hands.

"Ooh!" squealed Peter, grinning. "Sirius! SIRIUS! Get over here!" He beckoned to the fourth Marauder, and Sirius left the girls, staggering, quite drunk, towards his best friends.

"Look, Sirius, they're finally going out!" Remus beamed, gesturing towards Lily and James.

"Aw!" Sirius cooed. Then he looked suspiciously at James. "Did you cast a spell on her or something?"

"No!" James said indignantly. Lily laughed. "I didn't need to, did I, Lilykins?"

"Never call me Lilykins ever again if you want to live, James Potter," warned Lily. Remus, Sirius and Peter laughed, but James just leaned towards Lily and kissed her again. The three Marauders laughed harder and cheered. A lot of people looked towards them, wanting to see why they were making such a racket, and everyone stared when they saw Lily and James kissing. They were all waiting for Lily to push away and slap James, but she didn't. Instead, she wound her arms around his neck and reciprocated.

This seemed to upset a lot of girls. A couple actually burst into tears and ran into their dorm, and a few shot evil glares at Lily. But Lily and James were still kissing, and they didn't notice.

"Alright, break it up you two slobberworms," Sirius teased. Lily reluctantly pulled away from James, her cheeks pink. She unhooked her arms from around James' neck and suddenly became aware that she was receiving many cold looks from James' fan club. James noticed the glares too.

The next thing Lily knew, she was being pulled onto a table by James, who had already leapt up.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!" bellowed James. The common room fell silent. "I'd just like you all to know that I am going out with the beautiful Lily Evans! And if anyone attempts to sabotage our relationship in any way, then they will suffer the wrath of the four angry Marauders, who will spend the remainder of their final year at Hogwarts making that person's life an utter misery." James announced loudly and clearly. "It's taken me seven bloody years to get her to go out with me and nobody is going to mess it up!"

"Gosh, James, you make it sound so romantic," Lily mock-swooned. Many Gryffindors laughed. James jumped down from the table, satisfied, and Lily clambered down after him. James' fan club all stalked off to their dorms.

"Thanks, James," Lily beamed. "I think that deserves a thank-you kiss, don't you?"

"Definitely! More like a thank-you snog!" James grinned. He pulled Lily into an armchair where they began to kiss passionately.

At three in the morning, the party was finally stopped when Professor McGonagall stormed into the common room and shouted at them all. She stood watching as the Gryffindors all trooped slowly up to bed. When the common room was virtually empty, she left.

"Come on, Prongs," called Remus. He and Peter were trying to get a very drunk Sirius up the boys' staircase to their dorm.

"I'm coming," James replied from the armchair he was still sat in, Lily on his lap. Lily stood up and pulled James up too.

"We probably should go to bed, you know," Lily said, stifling a yawn behind her hand.

"You're right! My dorm or yours?" James grinned. Lily smacked his arm playfully.

"Not together, you idiot!" she laughed. "I go to my bed, you go to yours. But before you do go –" she kissed him briefly on the lips. "Happy." She kissed him again. "New." And again. "Year!" she finished, and kissed him a final time, quickly on his lips. She turned to go, but James pulled her arm back and crushed his lips against hers. Lily ran a hand through James' hair, even though she had previously said that she hated his messy hairstyle. James put his arms around her waist and pulled her right up against him as he had done behind the broom shed.

Finally, Lily broke away from James, although somewhat reluctantly.

"We – we should really – go to bed," she said breathlessly. "Goodnight, James."

"Night Lily," James grinned, squeezing her fingers before heading towards his dorm. As he reached the foot of the stairs, however, he heard Lily call out.

"James!" He turned around. "Just one more kiss?"

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When Lily woke up a few hours later, she could still taste James on her tongue. She smiled serenely as she pulled back her hangings and clambered out of bed. Her best friends, Alice and Mary, were sat on Alice's bed, whispering and giggling. They looked towards Lily when they heard her getting up.

"Good morning," chirped Mary. Lily yawned and waved in response. "Happy New Year, by the way. We didn't get a chance to talk to you last night to wish you a Happy New Year, you see, because _someone_ had their tongue down James Potter's throat. Congratulations." Lily's cheeks started to turn pink as her friends giggled.

The three girls dressed quickly and hurried into the common room. There were a few people milling around, but most people were either having breakfast in the Great Hall or sleeping off their hangovers. The three girls went straight down to the Great Hall. Lily quickly scanned the Gryffindor table and saw the four Marauders, sat at the end of the table and yawning. She made a beeline for the empty seat beside James. Sirius spotted her and her friends coming and grinned.

"Hi!" Lily said brightly, planting a quick kiss on James' cheek. James beamed and Lily slid into the seat next to him. "You guys all okay?" she asked the Marauders. They all muttered replies, most of which mentioned the words 'just really tired', or in Sirius' case, 'bloody awful hangover'. Lily smiled as she helped herself to breakfast.

When Lily and James had finished their breakfasts, they excused themselves from the table and left the Hall holding hands, leaving their friends behind. The two of them went for a stroll in the cold and frosty grounds, and eventually they stopped beside the lake. They were unaware that someone had also got up from his seat in the Great Hall and followed them outside stealthily, keen to avoid being seen. He crept closer slowly, keeping as hidden as possible. Severus Snape did not like to see Lily holding hands with _that boy_.

Soon, Snape was behind a tree and was close enough to hear what Lily and James were saying. He scowled behind the tree when he heard Lily giggle at something James said.

There was silence for a few seconds, and then James said, "You're a really great kisser, you know." Lily giggled again, her cheeks turning furiously red. Snape silently fumed behind his tree.

"That's ... that's, um, good, I guess," Lily said. "I've never kissed anyone before."

"Really? I'm surprised – someone as gorgeous and witty and intelligent and kind and caring and lovely as you –"

"Oh, shut up James," Lily reprimanded fondly. There was a silence, and Snape could just tell that Lily and James were kissing some more. Resisting the urge to curse _him_ into oblivion, he turned and stormed back up to the castle. Lily and James didn't notice; they were too busy kissing.

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Soon after that, Lily and James returned to the common room. When they entered, they saw Sirius, Remus, Peter, Alice and Mary huddled by the fire, all talking in low voices and looking concerned.

"Hey guys," grinned James. "What's going on?" he asked slowly, looking round at all their faces apprehensively.

"Nothing, nothing," Sirius said, attempting to grin but failing. This made James and Lily rather nervous, and they cautiously sat down on the sofa beside Peter.

"Guys," Lily said in a low voice. "Really. What's going on?"

Sirius, Remus, Peter, Alice and Mary all looked at each other nervously. Mary was biting her lip, something she always did when something was worrying her.

"You guys!" cried Lily. "Just tell us what's happened!"

"Well, nothing yet," Alice said awkwardly.

"Alice!" Sirius hissed, shaking his head slightly.

"We have to tell them!" Alice protested. "They should know."

Remus sighed heavily. "Okay. You're right, Alice. Tell them," he said, rubbing his face with his hands.

"Well," Alice began awkwardly, "we were all leaving the Great Hall after breakfast and there was a gang of Slytherin Death Eater-wannabes – Mulciber, Avery, you know them. And Snape. Snape was looking furious. We skulked behind them and eavesdropped." She looked around the group for support.

"Snape had just come in from the grounds," Sirius explained. Lily's eyes widened as she and James realised what Snape was angry about.

"Oh, no," James muttered under his breath.

"He saw us together," finished Lily. She groaned and leaned sideways into James. He put an arm around her. "Oh, why do lessons have to start tomorrow?"

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Don't forget to review:-P


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **I am so so so sorry for not updating in forever. Two words: 'Graphics' and 'Coursework'. grr... anyway, I have Chapter Three and the graphics coursework is very nearly finished! Chapter Four is coming soon, but the end is near. I'm working on another Lily/James fic though. Please read and review! Reviews make me smile ... and update faster.

**A/N 2: **And I just want to say thank you very much to all my lovely reviewers. I give you all big smileys :-) and cyber-chocolate.

**A/N 3:** You are probably getting bored with all my A/N's if you're bothering to read them, so I'll make it quick - sorry if this chapter is a bit shorter than usual and not so good, I've not had as much time as I would have liked to work on it and I wanted to give you something soon, so ... sorry. Please review and tell me what you think!

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**Chapter Three – Rocky Relationships**

The next morning, Lily stared glumly into her bowl of cereal at breakfast, dreading the start of her first lesson back – Double Potions. She was sure that Snape and his Death Eater pals would do something awful.

"Lily, you okay?" James asked. He was looking worriedly at her from across the table. Lily nodded and gave him a quick smile.

"Just not looking forward to Potions, that's all," Lily told him. James nodded in understanding, and then glanced over Lily's head towards the Slytherin table. Lily whipped her head around, her red hair flying. Lily could see Snape muttering to Mulciber, one of his cruel friends who Lily couldn't stand. Unfortunately, Snape and Mulciber were in her Potions class. Lily turned back around and stared into her cereal bowl worriedly. What would they do?

Too soon for Lily's liking, it was time to go to lessons. She got up from the Gryffindor table with Alice and Mary to collect their bags at the same time as Snape got up from the Slytherin table with Mulciber and Avery. Lily kept her eyes firmly away from them and her head up high as she stalked past the three boys, ignoring them completely.

When the girls reached the Entrance Hall and were just starting up the marble staircase, Lily heard someone shout her name.

"Oi! Lily!"

It was Snape. Lily tensed up but didn't stop. She elbowed Mary to keep her moving.

"Lily! Listen to me!" Snape shouted.

Lily turned around halfway up the stairs and glared at Snape, who was stood at the bottom of them, a little apart from Mulciber and Avery.

"You know what, Snape? I don't have to listen to you anymore, and I don't want to. Just leave me alone," Lily sneered, before turning around again and continuing upstairs.

"Fine! I was only trying to warn you about your scum of a boyfriend!" Snape retorted loudly. Lily froze.

"Come on, Lily, don't listen to that creep," Alice murmured. "He's just trying to ruin your happiness. Come on."

But Lily couldn't move. She slowly wheeled around and took a step down.

"What are you saying?" she asked Snape coldly.

"I'm saying that you can't trust Potter. Just last week he was off up to the Astronomy Tower with some Hufflepuff sixth year. He's only after one thing – and he only wants you because he's been denied you, you were a challenge. But now he's got you, just wait. Next week he'll dump you like a hot bezoar," Snape told her scathingly.

"That's rubbish," Mary snapped. She grabbed Lily's arm and attempted to pull her round again. "Don't listen to that jerk, Lily, he's just jealous."

"Jealous!" cried Mulciber. "Of that Potter? As if Severus would want to touch a Mudblood!" Avery and Mulciber laughed maliciously. Snape glowered at the three girls, his face paling even more than normal. Lily frowned slightly, noticing this – after all, she had used to be Snape's best friend. Mary and Alice pulled Lily back to the common room quickly. Lily was staring blankly into space.

"Lily, you don't seriously believe that creepy Dark Arts worshipper?" Alice said, glancing at Mary worriedly.

"No. It's just –" Lily broke off. She wasn't sure what to believe.

"Lily, James has been after you for years, I doubt that he would risk blowing his chances," reasoned Mary.

"Maybe he got tired of waiting," Lily retorted monotonously, her eyes slightly unfocused.

"Come on, Lily, we should get our things, Potions is about to start," Alice said after a couple of minutes of sitting in silence. Lily nodded and stood up slowly, before making her way to the dorm. Mary and Alice shared concerned glances; surely Lily wouldn't believe Snape, even if they had been friends once?

Just as Lily, Alice and Mary came down from their dorm, the four marauders entered the common room. James immediately bounded over to Lily; Sirius shook his head at his best friends and Remus and Peter laughed.

"Hey, Lily, you okay?" James asked, grabbing her hand.

"Yeah. Yeah, fine. Hurry up, James, you're going to be late," Lily said. She forced a smile and tore off across the common room to the portrait hole.

James stared after her, his mouth open. Then he turned round to Mary and Alice.

"What just happened?" he asked them. Before either of them could answer, the other three marauders came meandering over.

"Aw, what's up Prongs? Lily dumped you already?" Sirius joked. James eyes widened and he swallowed, staring helplessly at Mary and Alice. "James, I was joking," Sirius said quickly.

"Does she not like me anymore?" James asked the girls. Mary glanced worriedly at Alice.

"What happened?" Remus asked gently.

"We – we were coming out of the Great Hall when we saw Snape, Mulciber and Avery," began Mary uncertainly. "Snape called us – Lily – back."

"What did he do? I'm going to kill that slimy git –" began James, but Remus shushed him.

"Go on," Remus encouraged.

"Snape told Lily not to trust you," Alice said to James. Sirius' eyes narrowed. "He – he said that you only wanted Lily to prove that you could get anyone to go out with you, basically, and that you don't even care about her. And then he said that last week you went up the Astronomy Tower with some Hufflepuff."

"I'm going to kill him," James growled in a low voice. "How dare he? I would never do that! I love Lily!"

"We know you do! It's not us you should be telling!" cried Alice.

"You mean Lily believes that scumbag? She believes a Slytherin over her own boyfriend?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"They _were_ best friends," Mary said in a small voice.

"I can't believe this," moaned James, rubbing his hands over his face. "Just when we started going out, for Merlin's sake!"

"Look, we're already late. Let's just – go to class and you can tell Lily the truth. Come on," Alice said. "We'll tell Slughorn you're on your way, James, Sirius, okay?"

Sirius nodded and Alice and Mary left the common room. Remus and Peter had a free lesson while the rest of their friends had Potions, so they remained in the common room while James and Sirius collected their bags.

"Pads, you don't reckon Lily believes Snape, do you?" James asked worriedly as they made their way through the castle.

"Don't be stupid, Prongs. Lily knows you've been after her for ages," Sirius replied casually. Eventually they made it to the dungeons and their lateness earned them a look from Slughorn. Lily was sat with Alice and Mary at a table, with enough space for James and Sirius too. James gave Lily a grin when he sat down beside her. Lily returned it somewhat forcefully. James made a mental note to shove a Dr Filibuster's firework or two (or ten) up Snape's over-large nose later.

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**A/N 4:** Pretty pretty please review? Cyber-chocolate on offer ... come on, who can resist cyber-chocolate:-P 


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Oh my gosh, I am unbelievably sorry about how long it's taken me to update - I'm very ashamed of myself. With any other stories I post on here, I promise you will never have to wait anywhere near this long ever again. Please accept my humble apologies. If any of you lovely readers are still alive, please review, it's the last chapter! The end is here, at last. I really wanted to get this last chapter up today as it is my one-year anniversary of being on , so I thought I would mark this special occasion by finishing my story. Reviews would make a lovely one-year-anniversary present, and they don't take that much time.

**Disclaimer:** The characters and settings are not mine. The mistakes, however, are.

**Warnings:** The end is completely horribly clichéd, just so you know.

**Chapter Four – More Fireworks Behind The Broom Shed**

Although Lily spent the whole Potions lesson worrying about Snape, the Slytherin in question and his friends ignored the Gryffindors during the double period they spent in the dungeons. James kept smiling at Lily, who would grin forcefully back. Every time this happened, James could almost feel a piece of his heart break off and shatter. Sirius, Mary and Alice watched this happen glumly, glancing helplessly at each other from time to time.

After Potions, Lily and James (along with most of their friends) had a free lesson. The gang of Gryffindors all began to head up to the common room. Snape followed them out quickly, and called back for Lily again.

"Lily! Hey, Lily! Wait!" he called. Mulciber came sneering up behind him. Lily stopped so abruptly that Mary walked into her.

"What now?" Lily asked acidly, wheeling around to face Snape. James turned too, and glowered at the Slytherins. Sirius' hand casually drifted towards his wand.

"I want to talk to you," Snape told her. "In private," he added, after glancing around at the many Gryffindors surrounding her.

"Get lost," snapped Alice.

"Fine. I'll say it here if I have to," Snape scowled. "He –" Snape jerked his head towards James, who clenched his fists, "– can't be trusted. You know what he's like, you've seen him. Cursing anyone who gets in his way, strutting around like he owns the place; I don't know how you can stand to talk to him. And don't forget what I told you earlier."

Just as Snape, James and Sirius raised their wands, Professor Slughorn left the classroom and caught sight of all the students stood glaring at each other.

"What's all this, what's all this? Wands away, folks, please," he boomed, striding over as fast as his stomach would allow. "What's going on?"

"Nothing, Sir," chorused Lily and Mary quickly. The three boys put their wands away, glowering at the opposing House's students.

"Well then, get off to your common rooms, come on." The large Professor chivvied the group of students silently out of the dungeons and saw the Gryffindors and Slytherins go their separate ways.

As the Gryffindors passed the Entrance Hall, Lily grabbed James' arm and stopped.

"James, can we talk a walk? Outside?" she asked. James blinked at Lily through his glasses. "Please?" she added.

"Uh ... yeah, okay," James agreed reluctantly. He was dreading what Lily was going to say to him, because underneath his cocky exterior, he really cared for Lily and desperately wanted this relationship to work out.

"See you guys later," Lily said quietly to their friends, who all murmured their farewells and ambled off, also worried about Lily and James' relationship.

Lily and James set off into the grounds in silence, James waiting for Lily to speak. Lily unconsciously led the pair to behind the broom shed, and James couldn't help but smile faintly at the memory of New Year's Eve and that first kiss...

He was only aware that they'd stopped walking when Lily cleared her throat nervously and turned to face him, looking up into his eyes.

"What did you want to talk about?" queried James, attempting a smile.

"Um ... us, actually. You see, I was – Snape approached me earlier," Lily began uneasily, watching James' face for a reaction.

"Yeah, I know. Alice and Mary filled me in," James replied heavily.

"Oh." Lily's gaze flickered to the ground and then back up to James. "Right. Well, then, you probably know that Snape said that you were ... you were kissing some Hufflepuff the other day. I mean, it's not like we were going out at the time, you were perfectly allowed to snog whoever you wanted to, it's just –"

"That's a lie!" James said, a lot sharper than he intended to. Lily winced at his tone, but James ploughed on regardless. "Lily, I love you. I have for ages, you just didn't believe me. I would –"

"Don't try to pin this on me!" cried Lily, her temper flaring up. "Don't say that; don't make me the bad guy! Just admit that you wanted a quick snog because I wasn't giving in to your awful chat-up lines and cheesy grin. It's okay, I don't care!" Her reaction suggested otherwise, however.

"For Merlin's sake, Lily, listen to me! I would not kiss some other girl! Snape's lying, that's what he does best, he's just trying to mess up our relationship. He can't bear to see us happy together, he's twisted," James snarled.

"I was best friends with him once!" Lily snapped back. "He looked out for me! He still might do!"

"He called you a Mudblood. He hangs out with Death Eaters! Lily, you've seen what he's capable of!" James cried in exasperation. Why couldn't she see how much he loved her?

"I've also seen what you're capable of, James!" Lily replied heatedly. "Cursing and hexing as you please, flirting with countless girls. Just tell me the truth, James – even if you did kiss some Hufflepuff, it doesn't matter, okay?"

"But it's not true! I wouldn't do that, not now. I love you Lily, I really do, and I would not be that stupid as to go off gallivanting up the Astronomy Tower with some girl! You're the only one I want. Sirius is going to kill me for sounding like such a girl, but I swear, Lily, I love you so much that when you're not near me, I can't think straight. When you smile, my heart does this weird flipping thing in my chest, and when I look into your eyes, it's like the whole world stops and there's just us. I love you, Lily Evans!"

Before Lily could say anything, James stepped up to her and, placing one hand around her waist and the other gently on the back of her head, James kissed Lily with every ounce of passion he had. Lily closed her eyes and kissed back, her hands snaking up to wind around James' neck as she did so.

After a few moments, James pulled back; both of them were quite breathless.

"If that doesn't prove that I love you, I don't know what will," James said defiantly. Lily, however, could see past the brave, 'nothing-can-hurt-me-because-I'm-James-Potter' exterior, and could see that he meant every word – he truly loved her. As tears welled up in Lily's eyes, she smiled, and James' heart flipped madly. James grinned too, from ear to ear, as he kissed her again.

"I love you too, James," whispered Lily when they finally broke apart for air. She ran her hands through James' hair and gave him a brief kiss. "I won't ever let Snape come between us again, nothing will."

"I'll hold you to that," James murmured in her ear.

"I'll make sure you do," Lily replied, still beaming blissfully.

As they kissed again, they both felt a weight lift from their shoulders and they poured everything they had into the kiss. It was as though invisible fireworks were going off all around them, celebrating the fact that they could have a love so pure, so wonderful and so magical in the midst of the growing darkness that was Lord Voldemort. In that instant, they knew that whatever lay ahead for the wizarding world, they would face it together.

At that moment, as the invisible fireworks behind the broom shed exploded joyously around them, protecting them for now from what they knew was coming, all was well.

* * *

**A/N:** I warned you about the end! Did you recognise the last three words from anywhere? Please let me know what you thought of it - the cliché ending and the overall story. Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed it at least at some point. I would love love love to hear any feedback, so pretty pretty please review? xx


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